Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase followed advocacy group Investor Choice Advocates Network to express support for Ripple's key defense in its legal fight against the SEC.
The news that Coinbase has come out in favor of Ripple and its important “fair notice” defense means that Ripple now has a crypto industry heavyweight on its side in the lawsuit against the US financial regulator.
Ripple's fair notice defense centers on the US Constitution's Due Process Clause, which requires that the language of any criminal law be clear enough to give "fair notice" of what is prohibited.
The SEC sued Ripple and its two executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, for selling XRP tokens as "unregistered securities" to investors.
The news that Coinbase is trying to file a brief in the case was shared on Twitter by Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, who said that the company asked the judge handling the case for permission to file a brief.
An amicus brief, also known as a "friend of the court," is a document filed with a court that contains case-relevant information from a party who is now involved in the case.
“Our point is quite simple: This is a textbook case showing how critical fair notice is to any reasonable due process notice under the law,” Grewal wrote in the tweet:
Coinbase's filing came on the same day that crypto attorney John Deaton filed a similar motion on behalf of the XRP community "in opposition to motion for summary judgment."
Meanwhile, on Friday of last week, the same court granted Investor Choice Advocates Network permission to file its amicus curiae brief in the case.
The authorization letter, signed by District Judge Analisa Torres, said the briefs must be filed with the court by Nov. 2, according to a screenshot of the letter shared on Twitter by defense attorney James K. Filan.
Other notable organizations in the crypto space have also publicly expressed their support for Ripple. They include cryptocurrency advocacy groups Blockchain Association and Crypto Council for Innovation, cryptocurrency mobile app SpendTheBits, as well as venture capital firm Valhil Capital.